AFFORDABLE housing could soon be a reality for young people in Ilkley, in the wake of a Government inspector's decision on a controversial piece of land.

Planning permission has been granted for developers Bellway Homes to build 70 flats and houses on the former site of the International Wool Secretariat (IWS), on Valley Drive - a development which will include 12 affordable housing units.

Bradford Council - supported by Ilkley Parish Council - rejected an application for the development last year, saying the site should be retained for employment use.

But Bellway Homes appealed against the council's decision at a public inquiry in February.

"We have had to spend a lot of money on it but we were confident that we'd be successful at the appeal," said Nick Dawe, land manager at Bellway. "It was a logical planning consideration. We are pleased with the decision and we are looking forward to getting on the site."

Since the IWS building became vacant in 1997 there has been little interest in using the site for employment purposes. In 1999, Bradford Council turned down an application to relocate a bathroom fittings factory on the land - on the grounds that it would disturb nearby residents.

Despite this, Ilkley Parish Council's planning committee voiced strong opposition to the Bellway application last year.

Now, in a surprising U-turn, planning committee chairman Audrey Brand, who had spoken out against the development at the inquiry, said the council was happy with the inspector's decision.

"We didn't feel strongly about it," she said. "We spent a long, long time discussing the merits for employment or housing. We took it to vote and it was only by one vote that it employment won. Apparently it was the same with Bradford Council."

Coun Brand admitted that the committee was worried that if the IWS site was no longer set aside for employment, land at Coutances Way, which she called the 'gateway to the dales', would be used for that instead.

"We knew we needed a choice of employment sites in Ilkley." she said this week.

However, she also said draft proposals for the forthcoming Unitary Development Plan (UDP) meant that Coutances Way would remain in the green belt and two other sites would be allocated for employment.

"So we are pleased to see that low-cost housing will be provided in Ilkley," she said.

Explaining her decision on the Bellway Homes appeal, Government inspector Diana Clark acknowledges that there is a demand for smaller dwellings in Ilkley.

And she says the IWS site would not be suitable for many employment uses.

She said: "Due to its age, height, scale and condition, and the limited space for parking and vehicle manoeuvring, it appears to me unlikely that the building on the appeal site would be either useable or adaptable to modern light industrial, high technology, research or office applications.

"A much more likely scenario would therefore be demolition of the building and redevelopment of the site."

Demolition work on the IWS building will begin within the next two months, with building work expected to start within five to six months. The development will consist of 24 two-bedroom flats and 29 one-bedroom flats, ranging in price from £65,000 to £80,000, plus 17 three-bedroom houses.

"Twelve of the flats are going to be sold to a housing association," said Mr Dawe. "As far as the market place is concerned we consider the rest to be low-cost housing."